1. Area of the Art
The invention relates generally to automated chemical analyzers, and specifically to an incubation station for automated chemical analyzers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Immunodiagnostic instruments are widely used in clinical chemistry sampling and analyzing applications, and often involving the incubation process for performing various assays. In conventional immunoassay systems, rotary incubation wheels have been introduced. However, most prior art rotation incubation wheels are rotated by a center pivot shaft. These center pivot wheels are usually driven by timing belts. This conventional design often creates timing belt tension problems and/or belt-wear problems. In addition, it often causes problems with outside edge support when any form of pressure is applied.
A further problem with conventional rotary incubation stations is that the reaction vessels are dragged in machined grooves that are semi-rectangular shaped. However, whenever a reaction vessel is dragged over any type of a transition, the reaction vessel can bounce, which causes splashing of the contents inside the reaction vessel. Therefore, the transition areas have to be tightly controlled.
Other problems of conventional incubation stations include limited staging areas, complicated designs, and limited accessibility.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new rotary incubation station that overcomes the problems of the conventional incubation stations and provides advantageous features for the incubation process of the automated assays.